Android smartphones break more than the competition

BEANCOUNTERS at WDS have revealed that Android handsets break down the most compared to rival operating systems.

The research was carried out over a 12 month period and is based on over 600,000 technical support calls to the firm. The main finding is that the operating system that caused the most calls regarding hardware faults was Google's Android.

Out of all the calls received 14 per cent of the ones for Android were for hardware related issues. In comparison Windows Phone 7 had 11 per cent with IOS and Blackberry significantly lower at seven per cent and six per cent, respectively.

Tim Deluca-Smith, VP of marketing at WDS said, "One thing we must be absolutely clear on is that our analysis does not find any inherent fault with the Android platform. Its openness has enabled the ecosystem to grow to a phenomenal size, at a phenomenal rate, and it's this success that is proving challenging."

The study points towards the lower cost hardware used in some Android devices as the cause. Microsoft outlines minimum specifications for Windows Phone devices, whilst Apple and Research in Motion have end to end control, resulting in fewer problems.

Two of the biggest faults found on Android handsets were related to charging and the display.

A possible cost for the return and repair of Android devices could be up to $2 billion (£1.25 billion) per year for mobile operators, according to WDS.

"Many operators are treating Android as a standard implementation with a consistent customer experience. Given its nature, this of course isn't the case. The Android customer experience differs enormously between devices and this means that the way in which Android devices are retailed and supported must consider factors such as the hardware build and quality of components," added Deluca-Smith. µ